This is the letter that Mr. White wrote before his death about his three books for children:
Dear Reader:
I receive many letters from children and can't answer them all -- there wouldn't be time enough in a day. That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter. I'll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.
Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte's Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That's how the story of Stuart Little got started.
As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn（谷仓） is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation（拯救） on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)
Sometimes I'm asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write. I started early -- as soon as I could spell. In fact, I can't remember any time in my life when I wasn't busy writing. I don't know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction is trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures. I was no good at drawing, so I used words instead. As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.
Some of my readers want me to visit their school. Some want me to send a picture, or an autograph, or a book. And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets. Much as I'd like to, I can't go visiting. I can't send books, either -- you can find them in a bookstore or a library. Many children assume that a writer owns (or even makes) his own books. This is not true -- books are made by the publisher. If a writer wants a copy, he must buy it. That's why I can't send books. And I do not send autographs（亲笔签名，手稿） -- I leave that to the movie stars. I live most of the year in the country, in New England. From our windows we can look out at the sea and the mountains. I live near my married son and three grandchildren.
Are my stories true, you ask? No, they are imaginary tales, containing fantastic characters and events. In real life, a family doesn't have a child who looks like a mouse; in real life, a spider doesn't spin words in her web. In real life, a swan doesn't blow a trumpet（喇叭，小号） . But real life is only one kind of life -- there is also the life of the imagination. And although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too -- truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.
Yours sincerely,
E.B. WhiteWhat does the author do?
| A． a writer | B．a reporter | C．a doctor | D．a teacher |
What caused the author start to write?
| A．His parents’ encuoragement |
| B．His talent in writing |
| C．Not mentioned in the passage |
| D．A writer in the early time |
Why does the author think he can’t seng his autographs?
| A．Because he thinks it should be dong by movie stars. |
| B．Because he thinks his writing is not good enough |
| C．Because he has no much time |
| D．Because he hates writing |
How long had the author been writing the story of Chariotte’s web?
| A．3 minths | B．2 years | C．3 years | D．5 years |
When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there’d be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping some wood --- his coat thrown aside--- wearing a shirt , a cap, and a pair of gloves.
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold--- working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to.
| A．go home alone first | B．keep walking in the snow |
| C．draw pictures in the snow | D．light a fire on the ice |
Hearing her father’s advice, the author thought her father.
| A．forgettable | B．warm-hearted | C．crazy | D．cruel |
What might the author’s husband think of her?
| A．Tough | B．Smart | C．Brave | D．Foolish |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to.
| A．remember her tough and smart father |
| B．show how her father cared about her |
| C．describe memories of her childhood |
| D．explain why her father loved her so much |
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you! Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., And end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as gift. Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. Do you want to be extra polite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember---- it's not polite to ask how much things cost. In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start meal with soup or something small, and then you have meat of fish with vegetables, and then desert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and have more if you want it. Did you enjoy the evening? Call your host and hostess the next day, or write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you, thank you, thank you" all the time!You're not invited to the evening by a friend, which.
| A．means you are not welcome f or some bad manners |
| B．means he or she doesn't like you for some unknown reasons |
| C．means you should pay more visits to them and bring more gifts |
| D．doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you |
You should never.
| A．say you like the host's house very much |
| B．ask the host the price of the things in the house |
| C．have drinks and some snacks before the evening |
| D．sit beside the host or hostess when having dinner |
As a guest, you should finish everything to show.
| A．you are healthy | B．you rea lly like the food |
| C．you like cooking | D．you have a good appetite.（胃口） |
We don’t plan to cry, but it just happens. In fact when we feel sad or angry, a good cry is almost impossible to resist. But if you didn’t know what crying was, you’d have to wonder why some strong feelings started water streaming from people’s eyes and why they seemed to feel better afterwards.
Now a US researcher had found there may be more in crying than we think. William H. Frey II, author of “Crying: The Mystery of Tears,” believes it may really be one of the body’s clever self-repair mechanisms. Crying may be a way of getting rid of the by-products of stress, he says.
He has found that tears contain some chemicals which can cause stress. One of these is the hormone prolactin (激素), which is set free when one is feeling stressed. Since women have more of this than men, that might explain why they usually cry more, he suggests.
Unsurprisingly, Dr Frey’s study seemed to prove that most people feel better after a good cry. And sex has nothing to do with it ––– the result was true for women and men. So, next time you feel like bursting into tears, go ahead. If Dr Frey is right, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.The best title of this passage would be ________.
| A．Why Do We Cry | B．Crying and Tears. |
| C．Dr Frey and Crying. | D．Tears and Chemicals |
According to the author, we feel like crying because________.
| A．crying is one of our habits |
| B．we can’t control it |
| C．crying is one of the body’s self-repair mechanisms |
| D．we can get the by-products of stress by crying |
According to the passage, men seem less likely to cry than women because_______.
| A．their bodies contain less hormone prolactin |
| B．their tears contain more chemicals |
| C．they are not so full of feelings as women |
| D．the chemicals in their tears can’t cause stress |
The author advised us________.
| A．to plan to cry very often |
| B．not to cry any more |
| C．to go outdoors without hesitation |
| D．to cry as we want to |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Good cries can make most people feel better |
| B．Only women can feel better after crying. |
| C．It is easy to understand that people feel better after a good cry. |
| D．Crying is sometimes impossible to resist. |
Scientists are making new studies of color and its effects on our health. They have known for a long time that the color of a room or the color of the light in it can affect our feelings and emotions. Many prisons and hospitals have at least one room that is painted pink. Officials have found that light and color can produce physical changes in our bodies.
Professor Falfan worked with a group of 9 disabled children at school in Albert. Two of the children were blind. The other seven had normal sight. The scientists changed the color of the school room, then looked for changes in blood pressure, heart beat and breathing rate. The effects of color changes were the same for the blind children as for those with normal sight. Their blood pressure dropped from about 120 to 100. Similar changes were reported in heart-beat and the breathing. The children also were calmer and less excited. Then the colors of the room were returned to orange and white. Blood pressure, heart-beat and breathing rate went up and the children became excited again.
Professor Falfan said different colors produce different levels of light energy. He said the differences seem to affect chemicals in the brain that carry messages from nerve to nerve and from nerve to muscle.Light and color can affect________.
| A．only one’s feelings and emotions |
| B．one’s energy |
| C．one’s mental changes |
| D．one’s heart-beat, brain activities, blood pressure, feelings and emotions |
The color of pink had a calming effect, that is to say, the color affects __________.
| A．the chemicals in the brain | B．the eyes |
| C．the skin | D．the muscle |
According to the text, orange and white are colors which can make people ________.
| A．calm | B．active | C．sick | D．blind |
The colors in the school room mentioned in the passage were changed from _________.
| A．orange to white | B．orange and white to dark blue |
| C．orange and white to pink or some other colors | D．gray to more colors |
After reading the passage we can conclude that ________.
| A．blind people can be affected by colors, too |
| B．one’s heart will beat fast in a colorful room than in a white room |
| C．the chemicals in the brain change with feelings and emotions |
| D．if one’s blood pressure drops, his breathing will get slower and slower |
When children learn a language, they learn the grammar as well as words or vocabulary. No one teaches them; children just “pick them up”.
Before babies begin to produce words, they produce sounds. Some of these sounds will remain if they occur in the language being learned, and others will disappear. This is called the “babbling stage”.
A child does not learn the language “all at once”. The child first speaks only one-word “sentences”. After a few months, the two-word stage arises. During this stage, the child puts two words together. These two-word sentences have definite patterns and express grammatical and meaningful relationships. Still later, in the telegraphic stage, the child will produce longer sentences. These longer sentences are mainly made up of content words. The child’s early grammar lacks many of the rules of the adult grammar, but gradually it will become perfect.
All normal children everywhere learn language. This ability is not dependent on race, social class, geography, or even intelligence (智力). This ability is uniquely (独特的) for human.This passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．differences between a child’s language and an adult’s |
| B．ways of teaching babies to talk |
| C．children’s learning of the mother language |
| D．the importance of learning foreign languages |
The phrase “pick them up” means____________.
| A．raise them from the ground |
| B．learn them without much effort |
| C．use hands to help carry them |
| D．study very hard and remember them |
During the “babbling stage”, babies ___________.
| A．can only produce sound |
| B．learn to work without falling over |
| C．can understand people’s talk |
| D．begin to produce two-word sentences |
The two-word sentences produced by babies __________.
| A．are simpler than those produced in the “babbling stage” |
| B．are much more difficult than those produced in the telegraphic stage |
| C．are strictly grammatical |
| D．are meaningful and have function |
The passage implies that any children can learn a language as long as he is ___________.
| A．well-educated | B．clever enough |
| C．unique | D．physical normal |